Yesterday’s physically taxing marathon (there was a mile of elevation gain and a mile of loss) has me a bit sore of leg but truly happy of heart. A great deal of credit for this euphoria goes to my fellow runners, the numerous volunteers, the race organizers, my awesome cheering section (thanks ITP), and, of course, to the post-race chili. The glorious flavor of the post-race chili will be something I remember long after my recollection of the actual race fades into the recesses of my dusty intellect. Perhaps I’m chasing lightning with a bottle, but today I limped about the kitchen determined to recapitulate yesterday’s miraculous meal. Having not received any instruction with regard to how the restaurant synthesized this “chili of the gods”, I was left to my own sinister devises.

Day 250!

Ingredients:

1 T butter

¾ lb elk meat chopped into fine pieces (feel free to use beef)

1 T chili powder

1 t cumin

1 t garlic salt

1 t mural of flavor (Penzey’s)

1 t Worcestershire Sauce

1 ½ C Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies

1 C diced carrots

½ C fresh tomato

Directions:

Fresh elk in butter until it is medium rare.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 hours on low.

Serve over cooked macaroni

Restaurant Style Post-Race Elk Chili

Tasting Notes:

Without tasting them side by side, it difficult to compare the chili served at the marathon with tonight’s chili. After consulting with Mrs. Chili365, we have concluded that my chili it thicker and the meat is chunkier. There is also one minor flavor note present in the marathon’s chili that is absent from mine. Those points aside, the restaurant style post-race elk chili hit the mark. It was textually appealing with bits of carrot, small chunks of meat, and pieces of fresh tomato. With respect to flavor, this chili was remarkably good. The Rotel tomatoes and chilies spiced it oh so nicely. There was a pronounced zing to this thing and I really liked it.